Tonight, there are portions of the country that are presently without electricity. In fact, this has been the case since ten a.m. when electricity was cut off in certain areas of Orange Walk District. The scheduled power interruptions will continue until eleven p.m. That’s because Belize is facing an energy crisis and B.E.L., its sole electricity provider, is scrambling to meet demand levels that have soared as high as one hundred and twenty-five megawatts. As it stands, the maximum in-country generation capacity is ninety-five megawatts and its supply from CFE in Mexico remains uncertain. The effect of the hours-long power interruption was most felt in San Pedro on Wednesday, and we will have full coverage of that untimely experience elsewhere in our newscast. Earlier today, the Chief Executive Officer of Belize Electricity Limited and other senior managers of the utility company held a press conference to inform the nation of the latest challenges that B.E.L. is faced with. C.E.O. John Mencias began by discussing the country’s present consumption.
John Mencias
John Mencias, C.E.O., Belize Electricity Ltd.
“The local peak, well the peak for Belize goes up usually about a hundred and fifteen megawatts, but it can go as high as it did earlier this year to a hundred and twenty-seven megawatts. There are times during the day, especially during the night when it falls to a hundred and fifteen megawatts which means that in-country supply is able to meet that peak. However, we had to take our Mile 8 gas turbine out of service because we are upgrading it and so we lost nineteen megawatts and that puts the local in-country generation capacity below a hundred megawatts which means, therefore, that once we’re in that situation to be able to meet demand most of the time, we have to rely on the fifty-five megawatts that we get from CFE. Whenever we can’t get power from CFE and we’re in that situation, then we have to resort to load shedding. So we were in a situation like that on Monday whereby CFE said we have to meet demand over here in Mexico and we are unable to supply you with the fifty-five megawatts that you need. In fact, you need to go down to zero at this time, and when they do that, we are unable to match demand with supply.”
According to Mencias, what has been taking place is load shedding, a controlled process of temporarily reducing electricity consumption across different areas to ensure the stability and continuous operation of the national electricity grid. During the presser, the Chief Executive Officer also informed that CFE, Belize’s energy supplier in Mexico, was only able to provide twenty megawatts to the grid until three o’clock this afternoon.
John Mencias, C.E.O., Belize Electricity Ltd.
“So we have to load shed and that is what happened on Monday. And that is actually what is happening right now as we speak, that CFE has agreed today to supply us about twenty megawatts up to 3:00 this evening. It’s three o’clock already? But as of three o’clock they are going to cut it down to zero which means that we have to take off even more feeders throughout the country. So those are the reasons for the recent power interruptions. There’s a shortage of generation capacity in the country. Now, I want to make it abundantly clear to everyone that CFE is not acting outside of the contractual arrangements with BEL. What we purchase from CFE is called opportunity cost energy. It use to be called economic energy which means that it is interruptible at any moment’s notice. However, CFE has worked with us, they have tried to give us two hours notice, sometimes it is less. The relationship with CFE goes way back. It goes way back to the 1980’s. They have been a reliable provider of electricity for Belize. They have enabled us to keep our costs down, but importantly, also, they have provided us with great support and to put that in context, our systems are interconnected. We are very small compared to them. Any jolt in our system, they are able to handle it for us and that is the importance of being connected to a big brother like CFE. However, we have been aware for some time that they have also been having generation shortage problems of their own and also what we call transmission congestion problems. And that is why we have been emphasizing that we need to build in-country generation capacity to a level to be able to meet our peak demand within our own country. That does not mean that we’re saying we don’t want to continue our relationship with CFE. We want to continue that relationship with CFE. They provide us, as I said, with grid support and when the price of energy from CFE is low, we want to purchase it. it’s to our advantage. However, our focus has been since 2019, on energy security. Well from before. But we have made a point, we are driving the point that we have to stop relying on CFE to meet peak demand in country.”
On Wednesday, residents of San Pedro underwent a fourteen-hour power outage. This came amidst tourism high season, forcing hotels that were able to use generators to accommodate guests, while smaller hotels made do without. In a press conference today, B.E.L. C.E.O. John Mencias said the most recent outage was caused by faulty equipment. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Amidst the tourism high season, Belize’s premier tourist destination underwent a grueling thirteen-hour power outage. What began at ten twenty a.m. on Wednesday, lasted until the early hours of Thursday morning in some areas. This power outage was not the first residents of the island experienced recently, as just a few weeks ago, power supply to the island was cut. This was caused by a submarine cable, which supplies energy to the area, surpassing its max capacity. To protect the cable, the feed from it was temporarily dropped by Belize Electricity Limited. At a press briefing held by the energy providers, BEL CEO, John Mencias expanded on the events that caused the breach to occur.
John Mencias
John Mencias, C.E.O., Belize Electricity Ltd
“So about three or four weeks ago. We had power interruptions. I think it occurred on Saturday. A power interruption in San Pedro. It affected feeder to San Pedro, which is the portion of the feed the system that feeds to the north where most of the resorts are. That lasted for probably an hour to two the most. And the reason for that poor interruption is that the cable, the capacity of the single submarine cable that feeds the island was breached, meaning that demand on the island surpassed the capacity of the cable. The cable is rated for somewhere in the region of seventeen megawatts just above, and the demand in San Pedro went to seventeen point six megawatts. And we move quickly. To protect the cable. And that is why we dropped a feeder to out there. But afterwards, what we did, Is that we got in contact with various resort owners. We asked them if they could go on their standby generators when they did. So that reduced the demand for electricity in San Pedro and we were able to reduce supply below the capacity limit of the cable.”
Mencia said that the high demand in San Pedro continued for about two weeks, causing larger hotel owners to rely on personal generators. Mencias said that eventually the levels normalized, and the company was able to meet the demand once again. Yesterday, however, the power supply was cut off once again. This time, because of malfunctioning equipment.
John Mencias
“However, yesterday early in the morning, we started to encounter, voltage fluctuations at or Mascal substation, which supplies San Pedro. And when we further investigated on site we found that there was leakage and there was smoking of one of the major components of the transformer. And we had to move quickly to protect the transformer. And we had to drop the entire circuit that feeds San Pedro. That is from ten twenty. We realized very quickly that we could not do anything about fixing the transformer in the meantime and we moved quickly to deploy a mobile transformer. That we have in place to the Mascal substation.”
After several hours, BEL employees were finally able to replace the faulty transformer and restore power to the island.
John Mencias
“We started to move right away. It took us about two and a half to three hours to dismantle that mobile substation. I say transformer. It’s actually a full substation. It was by mile eight the George Price Highway. It took us another five hours to transport that because it is huge and wide. It could not go through the normal route to Mascal. It had to go all the way up to Carmelita and then down along the old Northern Highway. And even two of the bushings on that mobile substation broke. Had it not been for that, we would have been able to get back San Pedro online by about nine thirty last night. Remember, from ten twenty in the morning, we up to then, we actually got back online until forty-eight minutes after midnight, which is this morning.”
Mencias said that the company is going to repair the transformer that caused the power outage as the mobile substation used to restore power is just a temporary solution and is at max capacity.
John Mencias
“What we’re doing now, we have brought in some help from a contractor based in Guatemala who specializes in fixing those components. I think he should be here today. One of their representatives is here today. And we hope to get the transformer back in service within the next three to four weeks. But in the meantime, the mobile substation is capable of supplying the capacity out there. I will see the demand out there. I will say, though, that mobile substation is at its capacity limit, too, so we will have to continue to manage the man in San Pedro. So that is the San Pedro situation. We also had a transmission line failure. Go to that before the day before that.”
Among the issues with the equipment, BEL’s largest power supplier CFE has been unable to provide power to Belize, resulting in several power outages across the country. Minister of Tourism and Diaspora relations, Anthony Mahler said that he is hopeful the issue can be rectified soon.
Anthony Mahler
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism & Diaspora Relations
“Hotels. The bigger ones do, yes. It is problematic for us, but. We had a discussion in cabinet yesterday about it, and BEL is working feverishly to try to rectify the situation. It’s not the best situation. We’re still in high season right now, per se. We believe that we’ll get the solutions implemented pretty soon.”
Reporter
“But we see these constant blackouts happening, and they may continue because of Mexico’s load shedding. Is there anything being done to ensure that tourists don’t have to endure this?”
Anthony Mahler
“We’re talking to Mexico as well. And so hopefully this can be rectified sooner rather than later.”
The Belize Electricity Limited is figuring out how it will navigate through the dilemma of maintaining the country’s power supply. Out in San Pedro where the tourism season is still at its peak, there are concerns of potential health issues should people consume perishables that have gone bad. This evening, Area Representative Andre Perez says that he looks to B.E.L. to solve the issue, but he wants other questions answered as well.
Via phone: Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South
“Many things come into play, though. We’re talking about all kinds of things, even health issues come into play, especially with the heat right now. You have a lot of food poisoning. You’re hearing people dumping things out of their fridge. It’s very serious and it’s cause for concern, and I am just afraid that this can be something looming up ahead and the way how the B.E.L company is letting us know that they are going to be load-shedding out over the country and says that there is a problem and we need to address it. We’re extremely concerned as it relates to tourism as well – extremely important. Of course, this is still the busy season. This is not the slow season as yet because we are very busy and extremely concerned. According to what we have been briefed, B.E.L. is pushing aggressively to install a massive generator here on Ambergris Caye. I think it’s about a 20-megawatt-sized generator, and they’re saying that they’re hoping that they can have it up and running by the end of May, and we are hopeful. Two things here: one is that this is fossil fuel type of generator, which is not really helping at all in terms of what we are as a community that’s trying to move away from fossil fuels, right, in terms of electricity. But secondly, given the urgency of it, it needs to be installed because I’m telling you, it would be grief if we get affected here furthermore, and It can threaten not only the tourism sector, but indeed our economy. While you might blame Mexico for not providing, we have to look as well at the infrastructure. What has B.E.L done in the past 15 years? What caused these problems because the three outages caused is not by C.F.E, which is the Mexican Commission that provides electricity. It is showing that it is part of the infrastructure. So this is a concern firstly, as I see it, we have a concern here as it relates to the infrastructure that has not been addressed. And I think it’s manifesting itself now that San Pedro is actually consuming so much energy at this point in time.”
Marion Ali
Are people buying their own generators?
Andre Perez
“Lots of people have been buying up the generators right now, but that’s an additional expense that we don’t need, but we have to deal with it. When you drive around town here – yesterday when it was in the dark, a lot of people had these generators running, but this is a cost that nobody’s budgeting for, so it’s serious and healthwise.”
B.E.L. has commenced routine load shedding, which limits power in various areas of the country. Today, several parts of Belize City will experience the scheduled outages as the company attempts to manage the capacity. B.E.L. General Manager Jose Moreno explained what we can expect of this scheduled outage.
Jose Moreno, General Manager, Belize Electricity Ltd.
“As I think we have explained earlier, we have prepared a program or a schedule for load shedding based on a forecast, on a demand forecast that we have prepared for the day. That demand forecast establishes more or less how much demand we’re going to do by hour. Based on the generation availability at that hour, and given the restrictions imposed to us by the lack of supply from, the lack of adequate supply from CFE, and our own generation sources, then we established, you know, a plan, Taking into consideration areas that we can, where can we can do early, where it is better to do later at night and also we take into consideration the size of those areas, the size of those heaters. Belize City, I know it’s a business district, so we’re trying to, if we need to, because we need to right now, especially right now at three o’clock, We are going to be short of about thirty megawatts. That is, that calls for the outage of an entire Belize city. We’re not going to do that. So, if we touch areas in Belize City, we’ll do it at an earlier time than what we would do on a rural area. So, I think we have prepared a proposed schedule that I think Customer Care and PR have already shared with, with our customers and employees. And if the load materializes, if those restrictions continue, then those load sharing schedules are affected. So it’s something that is fluid, right? Let’s say to, in the next hour or so, we lose one of our generation sources. It will need to be adjusted. But, overall, we will follow a plan that takes into consideration the sensitivities of the areas where we plan to do. There are some areas that we did not expect to launch in Belize City at Six. That’s where the hospital is where the hospitals are. Areas of government offices in Belmopan. Health centers, police stations, and so on. So we take into consideration those areas. Areas that we might have of concern with respect to crime. So we are very conscious and we put all of those factors into the plan.”
Over the last few days, we have been reporting an increase in cartel activities in neighboring Chetumal. Two hundred military personnel were deployed to Chetumal earlier in the week following the daylight murder of a businessman and an active-duty police officer on busy streets in the city. There are growing concerns that this spike in violent crimes at the hands of cartel elements will spill over into Belize. Also, Belizeans are avoiding travelling into Chetumal for the usual leisure and business. Oscar Arnold, Belize’s Ambassador to Mexico says the surge in cartel activities within the city is being fueled by a feud between rival gangs. He advised Belizeans to observe some caution if they are traveling across the northern border. Chetumal falls within the Mexican state of Quintana Roo which is a tourist hub. So, will these recent occurrences in Chetumal affect the flow of tourism dollars from Belize? And are there Belizeans who also stand to lose? News Five’s Paul Lopez travelled across the border into Chetumal today to find out firsthand how things have changed over the last week. Here is that report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
A military crackdown in Chetumal, amidst a recent spike in cartel violence, has raised concerns among Belizeans. On Monday, two hundred military personnel arrived in Chetumal in artillery vehicles and a helicopter to assist local authorities in their crime-fighting efforts. Annually, thousands of Belizeans travel into Mexico for leisure and business. Today, we are in the neighboring city to find out how great of a concern these recent developments are to those travelling to Chetumal.
Liseth Casimiro
Liseth Casimiro, Belizean Travelling to Chetumal
“We hear about the crime right but it is like, if you nuh involved in them kinda thing deh you nuh wah fraid. We have been over there this week and we had no issues, everything is calm and we had no issue with those people. So, i think everything should be fine.”
We met Liseth Casimiro at the Corozal/Mexico border heading to Chetumal. She told us that this is her second trip across the border this week, as she exchanged her Belizean dollars for Mexican pesos from a money changer or “peseros” at the border. One peseros told us that his business is already feeling the negative effects of the reports of increased cartel activities in Chetumal.
Voice of: President of Northern Peseros Cooperative
Voice of: President of Northern Peseros Cooperative
“Of course I think and strongly believe that everyone is concerned about the situation, not only we as money exchangers. And, in reality we are working here and we have seen a drastic change, a drastic decline of Belizeans going over to the Mexican side, especially in the hours of five in the evening. We have seen a decline drastically.”
Paul Lopez
“Is that usually the peek hour?”
Voice of: President of Northern Peseros Cooperative
“For people going over yes.”
Pablo Guerra
Pablo Guerra, Peseros
“I think that maybe it is not too afraid to go to Chetumal right now. The thing is you must take care right now. We hear that maybe they have the cartels in Chetumal and they might come here, but we have to trust in God first. If we go to Chetumal we have to carry God with us.”
Another Belizean we spoke with off camera was traveling from Cayo to pick up a relative at the airport in Chetumal. He told us that his decision to venture into Chetumal today was only out of necessity.
Voice of: Cayo Resident
Voice of: Cayo Resident
“We have concerns about what is going on, but we the go out of need, because we the pick up my sister at the aiport in Chetumal so that is the only reason we the hurry guh deh. From what we understand if you stay during the day and not at night everything should be ok and you stay weh the crowd deh nuh.”
Perhaps the upside to the decreased traffic going across the border is the expedited way travel documents are processed both on the Belize and Mexico sides. We then travelled into Chetumal, Mexico. A police checkpoint is situated only a short distance from the border crossing. Our first stop was at Plaza Las America, a popular mall in the city frequented by Belizeans. The next stop was the New Market where Belizean bus operators park their buses. Belizeans gather at this market when commuting to and from Chetumal using public transportation. Here we found out that bus operators have also seen a decline in commuters.
Voice of: Bus Operator, Chell’s Bus Service
Voice of: Bus Operator, Chell’s Bus Service
“We only bring two persons yesterday and one person today and today is suppose to be a busy day and nothing the happen.”
Paul Lopez
“And you think it is because of the crime?”
Voice of Bus Operator
“I don’t know sir.”
Paul Lopez
“And how do you feel being in Chetumal right now?”
Voice of Bus Operator
“I nuh feel no way because I come fih work. I nuh the do nobody nothing.”
Voice of: Bus Operator, Tillett’s Bus Service
Voice of: Bus Operator, Tillett’s Bus Service
“To be honest with you, you hear on the news that somebody the dead everyday. You hear a lot of sirens and a lot of things out here. Basically business decline a lot because usually dah market you have six busses and the bus operators they afraid to come across because of the same reason.”
Paul Lopez
“Do you think there is a great cause for all of this concern right now?
Voice of: Bus Operator
“The thing is I have twenty-five years over the border and if you look fih bad dah bad yo wah get. If you come and deal with your business and deal with what you have to deal with you dont have to worry about nothing. But if you come dah Chet come party and do all you nuh have to do well obviously you will find your own demise nuh.”
To get a local perspective on the situation with the reported cartel activities in Chetumal, we sat down with Rafaela Flota, inside the New Market. She is a resident of the city, and she operates a food business along with her sisters in the market.
Rafaela Flota
Rafaela Flota, Chetumal Resident
“Actually I think that the whole city is very worried about this situation and we think that it will affect us with tourism.”
Paul Lopez
“Why is this happening right now in Chetumal?”
Rafaela Flota
“I think it is a fight with the cartels. I think they are looking for the plasas. a lot of people in Chetumal is very concerned.”
Paul Lopez
“What is your advice to Belizeans when they come to Chetumal now? Should they do something to protect themselves?”
Rafaela Flota
“I think that with the people that are not in problems, they are safe.”
Paul Lopez
“Are there places you shouldn’t go, some places you shouldn’t go when in Chetumal?”
Rafaela Flota
“We don’t know about that because the crime is in the streets, it is anywhere and everywhere.”
And if you go looking for an increased presence of law enforcement officers in Chetumal City, it won’t take long to spot a police mobile speeding down a main avenue with sirens on. The heightened sense of security became more evident as we drove from one location to another. But amidst the reports of increased cartel activities and the evident surge in police and military presence, there are Belizeans who are not deterred.
Keon Soberanis
Keon Soberanis, Belizean in Chetumal
“It is an every day route for me. I come here to eat. I come here to enjoy myself, to do little shopping for myself. So it is a regular little trip for me everyday. I feel kinda scared sometimes right. I heard the news and haven’t been here for like two weeks. But I came today and it is not like what people are saying right.”
Ivan Middleton
Ivan Middleton, Belizean in Chetumal
“Honestly, coming from a humble place I still could actually forward and make my way through because either way I still would make it through.”
Paul Lopez
“Now what has been your experience been like over the last few day?”
Ivan Middleton
“Well it has been calm. I have not experience much crime and violence. It was calm where we were, we were in Calderitas, a little bit down from Chetumal and where the crime is happening so.”
Mister Tillett
Mister Tillett, Orange Walk Resident
“As I get in on the border I start ask questions and everybody I talked to say that the people who local and come here have no risk right, so I nuh fraid yet.”
While the Mexican Government seeks to put a lid on the escalating violence in Quintana Roo, it is also moving ahead with the installation of train tracks to facilitate a much faster means of travel between Belize and that part of Mexico. Belize’s Ambassador to Mexico, Oscar Arnold told News Five that the Tren Maya has been a popular topic of discussion, with some parts of the project already coming to fruition.
Oscar Arnold, Belize’s Ambassador to Mexico
“The Tren Maya has been a hot-button topic. It’s one of those infrastructural development that will see about 1500 kilometers of train tracks that will link the entire southern Mexico. There will be a train station at the airport, which is only a few kilometers from the border. And so there are ongoing discussions to see whether or not a train station can be placed or can be built at the border that would enhance tourism. It would enhance travel. It would cut down the cost and the time of travel to areas like Cancun, Playa, Merida, and other areas in the southern part of Mexico. It would also help with cargo. So those discussions are ongoing. There’s been clearings in the area of where the Expo Fair used to be held. The road will run across there for the route of the train. There’s also a lot of work being done right across the airport from Chetumal where the station will be. I think the building has been erected and the supporting services, the buildings for the supporting services, and the wrap-around services are now being worked on. That section of the railway is supposed to be open in late June, maybe early July. That is when it’s slated to be open, and so the work there continues for that. But there are other sections that are already in operation. The route to Merida, the route to Campeche, those have been inaugurated already.”
Earlier this week in the High Court, two men were acquitted of a charge of murder due to a lack of evidence. Their release has raised questions regarding evidence gathering and the use of supporting proof to successfully prosecute suspects. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams weighed in from a law enforcement perspective.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“When the police do arrest and charge someone, we may have sufficient to arrest and where there is some evidence and we believe that we can put that matter before the court then we do so. We’re not going to be the ones to say that the evidence is insufficient. The court may look at a situation differently and may or may not convict. At the end of the day, we feel good that we did what we could have with the evidence we have and respect the outcome of the courts. I can say that unlike before, you’re not hearing much instances where accused murderers are walking. We have had a number of convictions for murders over the past few months or even years and we are hoping that that trend is going to continue.”
Late this evening, three men were arraigned on charges of being members of a gang. Twenty-three-year-old Kenyon Flores, twenty-four-year-old Julian Woodye, and Allen Anderson Junior appeared in the lower courts where they were each read a single charge of being a member of a gang. Woodye was unrepresented in court and before he entered a plea, he asked the Senior Magistrate for a sentencing indication, and subsequently pleaded guilty. He was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until May twentieth, 2024. Anderson, a resident of Manta Ray Boulevard in Ladyville, also pleaded guilty. He informed the court that he was just released from prison in January and was concerned that upon his return to the facility he will be placed in solitary confinement. Last to be arraigned was Kenyon Flores, no stranger to the court. He has three ongoing cases before the court, including one for harm. He was placed on pretrial detention until June seventh.
Belize’s tasty Garifuna dish, the Hudut, has become part of this country’s cultural tourism. The Martinez family of Hopkins Village has craftily woven the making of Hudut into a cultural experience that they offer to tourists in that village. Today, News Five’s Marion Ali and George Tillett took a tour of Palmento Grove Eco-cultural and Healing Lodge. And as their report reveals, Hudut is but one of many components of a tour the family has mapped out for the tourist at heart. We present that story on cultural tourism as this week’s edition of Belize on Reel.
Marion Ali, Reporting
The experience at Palmento Grove Eco-cultural and Healing Lodge begins with a one-minute kayak journey across the Fresh Water Creek Lagoon to Kalipuna Island, where Palmento Grove is located. The island is carefully mapped out for the tour the Martinez family has designed. Wasani Martinez, a certified dive master, guides you safely across to Palmento Grove. A quick walk to the main area affords you the choice of changing into a comfortable cultural dress to begin the tour. Leading off, like any spiritual family, the experience takes one through an interesting lecture on history and spirituality by the patriarch, Eugene Martinez. Martinez then leads the visitors on an educational tour about some of the trees, including the cashew and cocoplum fruit trees and the anato tree, used to make recado. The only visitor on the day-long tour today was this woman who gave her name as only Iesha from the state of Maine, USA.
Iesha
Iesha, Tourist, Palmento Grove Eco-cultural and Healing Lodge
“I love how immersive it is. It’s not just someone sitting and lecturing. You’re actually in the spaces and seeing the plants and making the foods and the dances and all of that, so I really enjoyed it. Yeah.”
Marion Ali
“You got to climb the tree, take down the coconut.”
Iesha
“I did! I picked my first coconut today, so it was awesome, yeah.”
Marion Ali
“And then you huxed, and then you actually made the Hudut.
Iesha
“All of it, yes, and I do not know my way around the kitchen (laughing) the way I should, but they were very patient and taught me everything, so it was very nice.”
Marion Ali
“And now you’re learning how to dance and to drum.”
Iesha
“Yes, that too.”
It is this kind of educational experience that owner, Uwahnie Martinez says her family wants to share with everyone who signs up for the experience.
Uwahnie Martinez
Uwahnie Martinez, Owner, Palmetto Grove Eco-cultural and Healing Lodge
“The trip across the lagoon – we managed to give you that kayak experience over because our boat was stolen. So instead of giving up again, we relented once more and we said, you know what, maybe it’s for a cause. Why not just count the blessings, despite the situation And turned it into something good. So, that’s how we started with the kayak ride across and it has been embraced by our guests coming as an extraordinary part of the experience. So, the idea here is to actually immerse yourself, be hands on, learn, and make sure you can appreciate the culture, the people, by the time you leave from here, and have fun at the same time. Doing that, we give you a feel of what our clothing is like. It’s nice and cool, you get the opportunity to participate without feeling extra hot despite the heat. We get a lecture from my dad. My family is that of politicians and activists. It’s well known here in Belize, so a perspective from their eyes, their views, telling their own story. Then we move on into the herbal garden, where we teach you and show you some of the herbs that we use for medicinal purposes and food purposes and holistic health on a whole – all part of Garifuna culture. You get to learn about the cassava baking process, you see the implements, you see the murals on the wall, and moves your senses, and that’s the idea of the experience we offer. We want you to be able to hear, see, taste, touch, smell, and feel. That’s for sure. So it moves your senses, it feeds your soul. And it revives your spirit, and by the time you leave from here, you’re well immersed.”
But the tourism package is a relatively young one that complements cultural tourism. The family purchased the land on the island and started the business in 2018, after a major setback.
Uwahnie Martinez
“When we first started here, it was out of necessity. We had an operation in the village, and that was burnt down. We went into financial foreclosure, so we lost that property, with 30 days to find where to go. My dad had this property, so refusing to give up and making sure that we can live to tell our ancestral story, our story from our perspective, we relented to move over here, cleared the place and fashioned it into a traditional Garifuna community where we can actually live culture with dignity and then share it with guests who want to learn.”
Part of that learning is making Hudut, which includes grating the coconut and extracting the milk, seasoning the fish, which today happened to be a barracuda, and frying it. While that is being done, someone is stirring the coconut milk as it cooks, while another beats the combination of boiled green and ripe plantains to complement the dish. The visitor’s experience ends with a session on drumming and dancing to Garifuna music, led by Rayton Martinez and Tiana Nunez.
Marion Ali
“How do you find the reception from the tourists? Do they like it?
Tiana Nunez
Tiana Nunez, Dancer, Palmento Grove Eco-cultural and Healing Lodge
“Most guests, when they come, they’re pretty receptive. They want to learn, they want to interact, so it’s pretty easy. Sometimes they do it on their own, or they’d ask if I can do it and then they just follow along.”
Marion Ali
“So tell me this: Rayton teaches by showing us: you start with one hand, and then you tap with the next hand twice, and then you go back to one. Is it the same way with the steps?”
Tiana Nunez
“It is, yes, because if you notice, whatever movement I make, the drum reacts. Yeah. And he also has to be pretty attentive to what I do so that he, knows. Yes, exactly.”
Uwahnie Martinez says the tour can be personalized to suit anyone with any time limit from only one session to all day, and even for overnight visitors. And where tourists want additional tours, like horseback riding, Palmento Grove outsources those portions to other tourism tours in communities that offer them. Marion Ali for News Five.
If you would like to book a tour with the Martinez family at Palmento Grove Eco-cultural and Healing Lodge, you can contact Uwahnie Martinez at six, six, one, six, zero, three, nine, or you may log on to their website at www.palmentogrove.com
